Hoverboards are no longer something impossible some people dream about, as Lexus is now teasing a real, rideable hoverboard in an exciting video.
Back in 1989, the movie Back to the Future 2 got everyone excited about several futuristic inventions, including hoverboards that would allow the riders to whoosh above ground on flying skateboards.
Technology has surely advanced greatly since then, and while we still don't have the type of hoverboards seen in the movie, Lexus now gets one step closer to making them reality.
The auto maker just posted an exciting teaser for a real hoverboard called SLIDE, touting it as a perfect illustration of what can be done when combining technology with design and imagination.
The Lexus Hoverboard stars in a short teaser video that shows the SLIDE hovering about an inch above the ground, waiting for a skateboarder to ditch his conventional board and try out the futuristic one. The video doesn't show the skateboarder actually riding this hoverboard, but it's quite intriguing nonetheless.
The hoverboard seems to be levitating in what looks like a skate park, which suggests the flooring is made of concrete. This makes it even more intriguing when it comes to the technology used for making the SLIDE levitate above ground.
"The Lexus Hoverboard uses magnetic levitation to achieve amazing frictionless movement," Lexus explains on its Amazing in Motion website. "Liquid nitrogen cooled superconductors and permanent magnets combine to allow Lexus to create the impossible."
The short video further reveals that Haruhiko Tanahashi is the Lexus chief engineer for this project. An inspiring tagline cites Tanahashi as saying that nothing is impossible, "it's just a matter of figuring out how."
No other videos or images are available to show a person actually riding this Lexus hoverboard, but the company is apparently working on it. Lexus tells Gizmodo that it's currently testing the hoverboard with the help of a professional skateboarder in Barcelona. The project has reportedly been in development for more than 18 months, involving teams in Germany and London.
Lexus promises to reveal more information in the future, but for now this short teaser video is all we've got. Watch it below to get a better idea of the SLIDE Lexus hoverboard.
